How A WhatsApp Group Gave Birth To The Veer Marathas

In the modern era of sports, social media has arguably emerged as one of the most pivotal platforms to reach a greater audience and engage more fans across the globe. The ongoing season of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) is no different. In the sport of wrestling, where the athletes and their teams are restricted to minimum fanfare, the PWL has created history in its own unique manner.

India's wrestling league has surprisingly managed to raise a team worth over Rs 7 crore from what seems to be a simple WhatsApp group. Veer Marathas, the debutants team from Mumbai, seems to have emerged from a restricted group on the instant messaging app to a full-fledged PWL franchise.

As a matter of fact, the team that boasts of World and Olympic medal winners amongst other Indian stars, came into being in a span of just two days. The team took shape in the WhatsApp group called Indian Sports Fan - a purely non-cricketing platform and not any run-of-the-mill group.

In its ranks, the group had some of India's biggest sportspersons including Olympic bronze medallist Karnam Malleswari, Hockey coach Harendra Singh and World Championship medallist Anju Bobby George. Apart from popular sports stars, the WhatsApp group also had a member named Gaurav Wankhede - a sports enthusiast who has also played the sport at a high level.

It was Gaurav who brought the Indian Sports Fan group to the attention of the Pro Wrestling League promoters. "Almost by accident, we mentioned to Gaurav that we were on the lookout for a new owner for one of our teams for the upcoming season of PWL," a member of the group told the IANS.

He got really excited and told us that he would speak to his childhood friend, Ranjit Saxena," he added. The rest, as they say, is an amazing precedent in the history of social media apps.

"I jumped at the idea when I heard about the opportunity," Ranjit Saxena, who eventually became owner and mentor of Veer Marathas, said. "I spoke to my other friends and within 48 hours we were ready to take part in the auction," he added.

Ravi Jain and Sameer Jain, who hail from Delhi, also joined the bandwagon as co-owners of the Marathas. "It all moved very fast and I think we managed to build a very good team. It has been an exciting journey so far and I am looking forward to take our association to a new level," Saxena revealed.

Veer Marathas might have come into being by chance, but the PWL franchise have set their goals far beyond a title win. The PWL debutants have vowed to pump in every penny they raise from the championship, including all the sponsorship money, back into the sport.

"Maharashtra is a natural home for wrestling. Our first international champions have come from here. We want to take the sport back to its former glory," franchise co-owner Saxena disclosed. Another co-owner of Veer Marathas, Ravi Jain, underlining his vision for the sport, claimed that they would set up wrestling academies in places like Sholapur and Aurangabad that have a well-known affinity to wrestling.

On Sunday, Belarusian female wrestler Vasilisa Marzaluik helped Veer Marathas inch closer to a semi-final berth, sealing her team's victory over Delhi Sultans in the sixth bout of the night at the Siri Fort Indoor stadium. For a team that came into existence through a WhatsApp group in a span of just two days, Veer Marathas have not only come a long way in the league, but continue to look like title favourites with every win in the PWL.